Invalid-chair



(No llodel.) OPL' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

INVAL'IDGHAIR.

Patented June 19,1894.V

NITED STATES PATENT EEICE.

OLIVE L. SMITH-FRASER, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 521,463, dated J' une 19, 1894.

Application filed December 13, 1892. Serial No. 455,017. (N0 model.)

. ing isa specification.

This invention relates to improvements in -chairs designed for the use of invalids, and

the invention consists generally in the construction and combination hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims. e

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved chair, the position of the parts when it is to be used as a couch being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the chair the leg and foot rest sections being removed. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail side View of the means for operating thewheels to move the chair. tail horizontal section through one of the guides 75 illustrating the slide 8l.

In the drawings, 2 represents the chair body formed as a box and supported upon wheels 3 and 5, the front wheels being preferably mounted upon an axle 7 and said axle being supported in the stationary bearings 9 that are secured to the forward part of said body. The rear wheel 5 isarranged centrally and is mounted in av yoke 1l that is pivotally secured to the under side of the body 2.

The box or body 2 is preferably provided with an open top and it may have a slatted bottom. This body is provided with a door 13 hinged at its lower edge and provided with a suitable stop 15, which holds the door in a horizontal position when it is open,as shown in Fig. 2. A pan or bowl may be placed in the body 2 being inserted or withdrawn through the dooropenin. The body 2 may also be provided with a drawer in its opposite side, as indicated vby dotted lines in Fig. 2.

Above -the body 2 is the seat 17 which is preferably supported upon springs 19 and 21, said springs being secured to the chair body 2 in any convenient manner and connected at their opposite ends to the coiled springs 17a.

The seat 17 is provided with a hole 23 which permits the chair to be used as a oom'- mo e.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged de- Hinged to the back edge of the seat is the back 25 which is suitably cushioned, an open space being left between the side bars 27 of the back at the lower part thereof.

A cushion 29 is provided for the seat ot' the chair and this cushion is ot' such width as to slide back between the side-bars of theback, as shown in Fig. l, so as to uncover the hole in the seat when the chair is to be used as a commode. v

The chair back is also provided with the pivoted handles 3l to which are pivotally secured the notched bars 33 the lower ends of these bars passing through the stirrups l35 that are secured on the under side of the body 2. The notched bars engage these stirrups,

and the back of the chair may thus be secured at any desired inclination. The notched bars are pivotally connected to the handles 31 by bolts provided with thumb nuts 37 by means of which said bars and handles may be rigidly secured together. When the chair back is turned down into a horizontal position the handles 31 form supports for it, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. l. At other times these handles serve as means to be grasped when it is desired to mo ve the chair by pushing or pulling it along.

Hinged to the forward edge of the seat is a leg and foot rest consisting of a cushioned frame 39 having at its lower end the adjustable cross plate 41 that is secured to the said frame by means of the thumb screws 43, engaging suitable thread openings in frame 39 so as to be capable of being raised and lowered on said frame. This frame is provided with the notched bars .45 by means of which it may be secured in any desired position as indicated in Fig. 1, the notched bars engaging suitable lugs or projections 452 that are secured adjacent to the bearings 9.

I also provide the cushioned arm pieces 47 that are pivoted at theirrear ends to the side bars of the back and at their forward portions are supported on the posts 49 that are pivoted to the arm pieces and to the seat. These,

ICO

By this means the back and the leg rest may be brought into a horizontal position, as

shown by dotted lines in Fig. l, thus forming.

a couch, and when these parts are in this position the arms are turned down so as to lie below or flush with the seat frame. This permits a person to roll or be lifted from the chair directly onto a bed or vice-versa.

I may also provide a table or writing desk 53 secured upon the slotted posts 55 that are adapted to slide between guides 57, and secured to the arm pieces by thumb-screws 59. This table can be adjusted or removed at will.

I may also provide the slotted posts G1 arranged to move between guides 63 and secured by thumbscrews 65. These posts are provided with cross-bars G7, and a band 69 formed of canvas, leather or other suitable material may be arranged upon these cross bars, and this band thus arranged forms a head support upon which a person sitting in the chair may rest the head by bending it forward so as to permit the forehead to rest on the surface of the band, or the band may form a support upon which the arms or hands may rest.

The axle upon which the forward Wheels are secured may be provided with suitable cranks 7l, that, as shown in Fig. 3, are arranged outside of the wheels and suitable operating rods 7 3 are connected to these cranks and pass through suitable guides 75. These rods are preferably provided at their upper ends with the handles 77, which are in position to be grasped by a person seated in the chair. Thumb-screws 79, or other suitable means may be provided for locking the rods and thus locking the wheels when desired. The guides 75 are preferably provided with the slides 8l as shown in Fig. 4 which maybe moved so as to permit the rods 73 to be moved out of the guides and dropped down so as to be below the upper surface of the seat when it is desired to move a person from or to the chair leaving the back and the leg rest turned into horizontal positions.,

I-Iaving thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In an invalid chair, the combination of the chair-body 2, the springs 17a located on opposite sides of the chair body at the front and the rear thereof so as to permit movement of said springs without interference with said body, the springs 19 and 2l lying at opposite sides of the body 2, each of said springs con necting two of the springs 17 and being arched to bring the central portion thereof above the top 0f the chair-body 2, and the seat 17 extending from spring 19 to spring 2l and connected to both of said springs and formed with an opening 23 between said springs and over the chair-body 2, substantially 'as and for the purposes described.

2. The combination with the body 2, of the seat portion supported above it, the hinged back serving as a horizontal extension of the seat portion when lowered, the handles 3l hinged to the back and serving as supports for the back when the back is lowered, and

the notched bars 33 pivotally connected at I one end to said handles and adjustable relatively to a catch adapted to engage the notches of the bars, said bars serving to brace the handles in their raised or lowered position, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 10th day of December, 1892.

OLIVE L. SMITILFRASER. In presence of- A. C. PAUL, F. S. LYON. 

